Never Let Go
by Krisymkk
Summary: They will never let each other go again


She was back. Thank _KAMI_ she was back. He never wanted to let her go again—she was his light, his soul, his everything.

Those three years had been pure hell, but now she was back where she belonged, and death would have to take him before he ever let her go again.

He watched her from his corner in Kaede's hut—telling everyone about what she had been doing in the future. She'd finished her school, and would never have to worry about another "test" again. She seemed relieved by that. He knew she'd always been a little scared of whatever they were, although she'd told him time and time again that they weren't actually dangerous. He kept a careful watch on her as she stopped talking and began to listen to Sango and Miroku. He noticed how she was so incredibly happy that they had married and begun a family. He wondered briefly if she'd be interested in that sort of thing. All he really had planned was to keep her with him. He hadn't thought that far ahead.

Eventually, the twins began to get cranky, and the monk and tajiya took them home. Inuyasha was left watching the future-born woman from his corner as she talked with the elderly miko. No one had talked much to him—he supposed he was grateful. There was too much to think about.

Eventually, as he had seen Kaede yawn a few times, he stood up.

"Kagome, will you walk with me?"

She turned a confused gaze toward him before sheepishly nodding her head. "Of course, just give me am minute."

She could feel his eyes on her as the night progressed. She was ecstatic to be able to talk with Sango and Miroku again, but the one she really wanted to hear from had remained quiet for the most part. She wondered what he was thinking. He was the one she had missed the most. Out of everyone in the past, being away from him was the reason her heart had cried.

She had almost made an audible sigh of relief when Sango had taken her family home. _Finally_ she'd be able to talk to Inuyasha. Sure, Kaede was still here, but maybe she would go to sleep soon and they could just talk quietly. Or, maybe they could go for a walk.

She was stilling mulling through the options when Inuyasha's voice startled her. It took a moment for what he said to register, but when it did she couldn't help but smile. Maybe the reason he hadn't said much was because he wanted to talk to her alone as well. It wouldn't surprise her. He had never been good about talking about his _feelings_ when others were around. He had an image to protect, after all. Although, she wondered if that had changed while she'd been gone. It had been a long time after all.

She told Kaede a small goodnight before grabbing her sweater, and stepping outside the small hut. Of course, Inuyasha was already there waiting, but he didn't seem to be impatient—just calm.

When he saw her, he couldn't help himself. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him into an embrace. He heard her sigh of contentment, and let out his own.

"Inuyasha?"

He looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms.

"Was there somewhere you wanted to go?"

Of course there was, and she probably knew exactly where. He grinned, fangs flashing in the moonlight. "Yeh, there is. Let's go."

He crouched down so she could climb onto his back. She wondered if he had missed this as much as she had. It was nice to be close to him again.

It was wonderful. It was bliss. Feeling her against him like he hadn't in _ages_ —he swore he would never be without her again. He took off at a run. Not too fast—he was enjoying carrying her again—but fast enough to arrive at the Goshinboku within just a few minutes. He didn't bother pausing at the foot of the great tree, but immediately leapt onto his favorite branch. It was sturdy, wide, and high enough from the ground that even if you were looking for him from the ground you would have a hard time. That was saying something as he wasn't exactly hard to miss.

He settled himself, helping Kagome find her balance next to him, but keeping his arm wrapped securely around her waist just in case. He would take no chances. He wasn't about to lose her over something as simple as falling out of a tree. _Especially_ his tree.

Kagome noticed he didn't pull away as he once would have. Of course, there were no prying eyes either, but it still didn't escape her notice. Her hanyou had never been the touchy-feely type in public, and he hadn't been much different in private. Then again, it had been three years. If he felt anything like she did, he would touch her just to be sure she was really there. She felt a little like she was still in dream land herself. It had taken so long for the well to open again that she had almost given up hope. Now, though, looking at him with moonlight glinting off of his hair, she was glad she didn't.

"Kagome, I'm glad you're back. I missed you."

"Me too. It was hard being away for so long. I really missed you, too. Although I must say, I'm surprised to hear you say it so bluntly."

She smiled mischievously at his indignant expression. "Oi! What's that supposed to mean? I can say I missed you if I want to!" he said loudly before quietly muttering, "Especially if there isn't a nosey monk around."

She almost didn't hear him, but when his words registered, she couldn't help but laugh. Even if some things were different, others would never change.

He listened as she laughed. Even if it was at his expense, it was still the best thing he had ever heard.

"I suppose I can see your point. Miroku was always rather nosey."

"One of these days he's gonna stick his nose where it doesn't belong, and he'll wish he hadn't. Hope I'm there to see it. It will be hilarious." They both quieted after that, both with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

"How long will you stay here?"

The question startled Kagome before she realized that she had yet to explain that the well was permanently closed, truly sealed now, and that she could no longer pass between time periods. She hesitated before explaining, unsure of her emotions. She was sure of her decision, but she was still coming to terms with the fact that she would never see her family again. She had chosen to be in the past with Inuyasha, rather than in the future with them. She was a strange mix of happy and sad all at once.

"The well is sealed again. I can't go back."

The scent of her confusion, resolve, sadness and happiness had his head spinning. She couldn't go back? How did she know the well was sealed? She hadn't been back to it all day—he would have seen her; he hadn't let her out of his sight.

"What do you mean the well is sealed again? You haven't tried to go through it all day."

He saw her sad smile before she turned her head slightly away. "I knew before I came back that it would be sealed. There is no more going from time to time. I had to pick just one."

Oh. _Oh._ She couldn't go back to her family anymore. That must be why she was sad. But wait a minute—what did that mean? She knew beforehand and still came back?

"If you knew, why did you come back?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Well, to see you again, of course. Why else?"

And there it was. What he'd been hoping she'd say. Not only had she come back—never to return to the other time—but she had done so to be with him. Oh, he felt like his whole world was spinning, upended in the best possible way. He felt lightheaded, breathless, and far too many things to name and _please,_ for the love of all the kami in the universe don't let this be a dream. He'd find them all and rip them to shreds if it was.

He belatedly realized she'd placed her hand on his cheek, and he nuzzled into it. "Do you really mean it? Are you going to stay here with me from now on?"

Well, that wasn't quite how he'd meant it to come out, but it was the question he wanted answered the most. He needed it like he needed air to breathe.

She looked into his eyes, and rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone. He almost looked to be on the verge of an anxiety attack—it was a strange sight to see.

"Yes, Inuyasha. I'm never letting you go again."

He didn't even have time to think about how that was supposed to be _his_ line, when he felt her smooth lips on his.

No. He was never letting her go again, either.

She stood in the well house, looking down at the dirt that once again covered the bottom. She had seen it earlier, the bright, blue sky on the other side—centuries in the past, where her daughter now resided. It was bittersweet. She knew Kagome was happy now with the one she loved, but she would be missed all the same. It's always difficult for a mother to let go of her children, after all. So, she'd cry tonight, alone with her thoughts. She'd grieve for her daughter. But, at the same time, she would have joy in her daughter's happiness, and tomorrow when she faced her family again she would be all smiles. For after all, all a mother truly wants is her children's happiness. Though she would never see her daughter again, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that the puppy-eared hanyou would bring the moon down from the sky if he thought for a moment it would make Kagome happy.

She had to let her go.


End file.
